Therapy dog helps with healing

Denise Coffey, Staff WriterReminder News

Sharon Swinyer didn't even reach the main entrance to Day Kimball Hospital before she was besieged by staff members. That's what always happens on Tuesdays when she and her therapy dog Indy visit patients. People will stop her so they can pet the dog. They'll stop her as she makes her way through the parking lot. They'll stop her at the admitting desk and in the hallway. Swinyer and Indy are happy to oblige; that's their job.

Their therapy assignment is in the hematology/oncology department, where they walk the hallways and visit patients and staff wherever they find them. They pop into the infusion rooms, the waiting room, the offices. The team works one day a week for about an hour at a time. Indy licks faces, stops for hugs, sits for petting, and pretty much draws attention wherever her paws take her.

The 90-pound Akita is a looker. Her registered name is CAM's Indiana Farm Girl. She's passed the tests to have the initials CGC, RA and CD after her name. They stand for Canine Good Citizen, Rally Advanced, and Companion Dog. The American Kennel Club titles are indicators of responsibility (on the owner's part), good manners (on the dog's part), and the special relationship that's been established between them through training and testing.

The dog's good behavior and the way she works with Swinyer are crucial for a therapy animal. Indy's response to commands is quick. She'll sit, lay down, roll over, give high fives, touch and speak. The patients decide whether to engage with her or not.

"Indy has never had a negative response with a patient," said Trisha Holland Caprera, the director of the hematology/oncology department, who sees 60 to 75 patients a day. "One woman didn't want to pet the dog at first, but now they are good buddies."

Those studies have shown that interactions with animals can be beneficial to humans. Researchers have been able to measure increases in oxytocin and dopamine (two neurotransmitters tied to the reward centers in the brain) and decreases in cortisol levels (a hormone released in response to stress). Decreases in blood pressure, stress, anxiety have been measured. There is something good and kind and worthy about the love of an animal, the science suggests, even if its momentary.

That idea was the basis for Pet Partners, a national organization that promotes positive interactions between humans and therapy, service and companion animals. Swinyer and Indy are one of more than 10,000 pet therapy teams in the country. Dogs, cats, miniature horses, llamas, guinea pigs and even birds can be acceptable members of Pet Partner teams.

Getting Indy into the hospital took a few more steps. First came an interview, held outside on hospital grounds, with Swinyer, Indy and hospital staff. "We wanted to see the dynamics between the dog and staff," said Director Trisha Holland Caprera. "At the end, we just wanted to bring her inside and keep her."

Holland Caprera had to rewrite policy, check with the infectious control people, and go through a long checklist of items. But Indy and Swinyer eventually got a green light to roam the second floor Rose Bove LaRose Cancer Center and comfort patients.

Lorraine Breault beckoned the dog from her chair in the infusion room. Breault is a long-time dog lover. When Indy got close enough, she gave her a big hug. "She's so well behaved," Breault said. "She's been in here when the chairs were filled and she is just so loveable."

Craig Wood stroked the dog's head from his chair in a corner. Nurse Jillian Snow moved around Indy as she administered chemotherapy. Other staff members stopped by to pet the dog. Holland Caprera said sometimes the staff needs the animal as much as patients do.

Director of Volunteers Janet Johnson says Indy's visits go far in helping patients. Once a woman in a wheelchair reached out to the dog. "You could tell she was ill," Johnson said. "She held the dog's face and said, 'Hi, puppy. Make me better.' Just to see that gave me goose bumps. Indy just stood there and let her hold her face."